NitrateVille.com

A major web fad of the past year has been Vine videos (6-second looping 480x480). There's no way to predict whether Vine will endure or flame out when people move on to the next web fad, but since Vine is owned by (and linked to) Twitter it seems likely that Vine will last as long as Twitter thrives.

There is not a great deal of silent-film-related material on Vine, but I think Vine could easily have a substantial 6-second silent film nook. Many portraits of silent film stars are on the web, but a 6-second film close-up can bring a silent performer to life in a way that a portrait cannot. Or in the case of silent comedians, a 6-second gag can show that comedian's style. Vine videos of silent performers could inspire viewers to learn more about him/her.

Some current silent film web sites could serve as Vine gateways, an index of silent performers with links to their Vine videos.

Complete or lengthy versions of copyrighted films (or public domain films with copyrighted soundtracks) should not be pirated and placed on YouTube or similar web video servers. But a 6-second Vine clip should be OK, since it should be "fair use" and could possibly increase the value of the copyrighted work. To be safe, any copyrighted soundtrack could be removed and possibly replaced with public domain music or with freely distributed music from the Internet Archive. (Or the musicians here could donate little 6-second bits for use with silent Vine videos).

Anyhoo...Silent fans with spare time on their hands could (if they learn how) add 6-second silent film clips to Vine. (And should there be one specific "hashtag" linking them?) Here's a sample I uploaded, Anita Stewart:
https://vine.co/v/MuqJ7wm6EXv (click the speaker to turn on the music).

And as a bonus, there are various free apps and web sites which will easily turn any Vine video into an animated gif, like:

On of the big apps of the year is Artisto, which applies a variety of artistic video effects. I thought I'd try one on Mary Pickford, posted to Vine: https://vine.co/v/59MYOVEKH5a

Thoughts: Anti-colorization purists will likely object, but if the current generation is to be exposed to silent film personalities, it will need to be done in a way that doesn't seem hopelessly old-fashioned.

Bruce Long wrote:On of the big apps of the year is Artisto, which applies a variety of artistic video effects. I thought I'd try one on Mary Pickford, posted to Vine: https://vine.co/v/59MYOVEKH5a

Thoughts: Anti-colorization purists will likely object, but if the current generation is to be exposed to silent film personalities, it will need to be done in a way that doesn't seem hopelessly old-fashioned.

Anti-color purists may object to your Pickford but tell them that Andy Warhol did it and they will fall all over themselves praising it.

Bob

It certainly captured the Mary Pickford I've enjoyed in films when she played a grown-up, "My Best Girl" and "The Love Light" for example.

I like it, but Warhol would never have chosen that color palette!

Bob